Receptacle.



G. 8. ADAMS.

RECEPTACLE.

APPLlCATION FILED JUNE 22. 1914.

1 178,044. Patented Apr. 4, 1916.

INVENTOR W MM,

ATTORNEYS I enonen IB. ADAMS, or mvnveron, new JERSEY.

RECEPTACLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 4., 1916.

Application filed June 22, 1914. Serial No. 846,510.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE B. AoAMs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Irvington. in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and; useful Improvements in Receptacles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the by the application of slight pressure upon opposite sides of the body of the receptacle.

The present invention, therefore, has for its principal object to provide a novel and simply constructed metal receptacle of the character above stated, whichmay be made in the form of tea-balls, vanity-cases for ladies uses, and other suitable metal shells or cases provided with hinged lids or covers which are normally closed upon the body of the'receptacle, but are adapted to be sprung into open relation with the body of the receptacle by the application of pressure upon opposite sides of the said body.

f Other objects of this invention not at this time more particularly enumerated will be clearly understood from the following detailed description of the present invention.

Vith the various objects of the present invention in view, the invention consists, primarily, in the novel sheet-metal receptacle, provided with a hinged or pivoted lid or cover adapted to be sprung into its open position from its normally closed relation with the body of the receptacle, substantially as will be hereinafter more fully set forth; and, the invention consists, furthermore, in the novel arrangements and combinations of the various parts, as well as in the details of the construction of the said parts, all of which will be more fully described in the following specification and then finally embodied in the clauses of the claim which are appended to and which form an essential part of the said specificaion. 1

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which if igure 1 is a side view and Fig. 2 a plan view of a tea-ball made according to and embodying the principles of the present invention, the lid or cover being shown closed down upon the body of the receptacle. Fig. 3 1s a plan view of the said tea-ball, with the lid or cover of the same shown in its sprungopen or raised relation to the body of the receptacle; and Fig. 4: is a transverse vertical'section of the device, said section being taken on line 4l4e in said Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrow at. Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section, similar to that represented in said Fig. 4-, of a slightly modified form of tea-ball. Fig. 6 is a plan view with the lid or cover closed; Fig.7 is a. similar view with the lid or cover raised; and Fig.8 is a vertical cross-section, taken .on line 88 in saidFig. 6, of a vanity case made according to and embodying the prin- .ciples of the present invention.

Similar characters of reference are employed inall of the above described views,

to indicate corresponding parts.

Referring now to the several figures of the drawings, and more especially to Figs.

1 to 5 inclusive, in which is shown a teaball, the reference-character 1 indicates a main body of, any suitable shape, the said body'being provided with suitably disposed V holes-or perforations, as 2. Near its upper marginal edge, forming the opening of the said body 1, is an outwardly extending annular beadlike part, as 3, and-forming the said marginal edge is another and inwardly projecting-bead-like part, as 4. At the rear of the said body, the said bead-like part 4 is cut away,'as at 5, for'the reception of the hinge-member 7 of a flat, or other suitably shaped-,lid or cover which .is also formed with a marginal retaining lip ortongue, as 8, which is adaptedto be sprung into frictional holding engagement with a portion of. the inwardly extending marginal bead 4.

As has been stated, the said body 1 is made i from sheet metal having resilient properties for the purposes to be presently fullv stated. Sprung into the said annular bead-like part 3 is an arc-shaped spring-member 9, which is preferably greater than a semi-circle, so as to be positively held in position within said annular flange 3, against accidental displacement from said flange, said springmember passing also through the hingemember '4'" of the lid or cover 6, to pivotally connect the said lid or cover to the said body 1, as will be clearly evident from an inspection ofFigs. 3, 4 and 5 of the drawings. The said springemember 9 is also bent, as at 10, said bent portion 10 being arranged in a cut away portion 11 in the bead-like parts 4 and 3, and extending upon the outside of the body 1 in the form of a stem or handle 12 which is provided upon its free end with a linger-piece or'holding member, as 13. If desired, and as shown in Fig. 5, the said bent portion 10 and the stem or handle 1:2 with its finger piece or holding member 13, as well as the cut away portion 11 in the bead-like parts 4 and 3 may be dispensed with, in which case the lid or cover 6 may have suitably attached thereto a chain 14 and hook 15, as in said Fig. 5, or in lieu thereof any other suitable means of suspension or carrying device may be provided. In closing the lid or cover 6 down upon the'said bead-like part 4, the hingemember 7 will bind against the back portion of the body 1 and the snap-catch or retaining tongue 8 springs into frictional holding engagement with the bead-like part 4, so that thereby the lid or cover 6 is held in its closed relation upon the open part of the body 1, as will be clearly understood from an inspection of Figs. 4 and'5 of the drawings. V

In order to cause the lid or cover 6 to spring into open position, the body 1 is taken between the thumb and a finger, and slight pressure is applied by the operator upon the points of the body marked a and b, in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The body 1 being made of resilient metal, this slight pressure upon the body, in opposite directions, will be sufficient to slightly distort the upper circular contour of the said body 1, so that the snap-catch 8 of the lid or cover '6 is disengaged from its holding engagement with the bead-like part4, the springmember 9, due to its action, readily forcing the lid or cover 6 into its raised or opened position with relation to the upper open part of the said body 1.

lVhile in the foregoing I have described mv invention as applied to a tea-ball, it will fully be understood that the invention may be applied to other receptacles, such as a vanity case, or the like, the bodv of the receptacle not necessarily being of a resilient material.

In Figs. 6, 7 and 8, I have illustrated a vanity case, the shell or body of which is represented by the reference-character 16, the said shell or body being made of a metal having resiliency. The said shell or body 16 is made with a marginal bead-like part 17, formed at suitable intervals and upon the opposite sides of the said shell or body 16 with projections, as 18, which serve as fingerpieces for holding the said shell .or body and for producing a slight compression of the marginal portion of said body when pressure is applied to said projections. At

the rear of the body 16, the bead-like part '17 is cut away, as at 19, for the reception of the hingemember 21 of a flat, or other suitably shaped, lid or cover 20, the said lid or cover 20 being also formed with a marginal retaining lip or snap-catch 22 which is adapt 2,

ed to be sprung into frictional holding engagement with the forwardly located portion of the bead-like part 17. Located within the said shell or body 16, and directly beneath the said bead-like part 17, is an arcshaped spring-membenas 23, which acts in the manner herein-above described in connection with the constructions shown in H Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, and upon which. the

lid or cover 20 is also hinged by means of its hinge-member 21.

The purposes of the said spring-members 9 and 23 are three-fold in that the said spring-members serve as a means for lung ing the lids or covers to the receptacles, the

spring members also serving as a. means to prevent crushing of the thin metal bodies while being compressed for the purpose of springing the lids or covers intotheir raised positions, and then, finally, the said springmembers serving also as a means for assisting the return of the compressed portions of the body of the receptacles to their origi-' nal form, after pressure has been removed" from the opposite sides of the bodies of the receptacles.

I am also aware that changes may be made in the general arrangements and combinations of the various devices and parts, as

and combinations of the various devices and parts as described in the said specification, nor do I confine myself to the exact details olthe construction of the said parts,

as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 7

I claim 1. A receptacle comprising a main shell or casing formed with an internal marginal groove, an inwardly extending marginal edge, and an externally extending marginal rib, a spring-portion arranged within said Eli) groove and held thereby, a lid pivoted to said spring-portion, said lid having a snapcatch and adapted to engage with an inner portion of the said inwardly extending marginal edge of the said body, said lid being adapted to lie in contact with the top of said inwardly extending edge and within the peripheral marginal portion of said rib when the lid is closed, said body being made of a resilient material and being compressible at its opposite edge-portions diametrical across said body between the hinged portion and the snap-catch of the lid, whereby the application of pressure upon said oppositely located points will release the snap-catch from its holding engagement with the said body.

2. A receptacle comprising a main body, a spring-member sprung into said body, a lid hinged to said body, a snap-catch connected with said lid and adapted to be sprung into holding engagement with a portion of said body, said spring-member having a bent-portion extending laterally to and from the outer side of said body to provide a handle, said bent portion lying beneath said lid and away from the connection between said snap-catch and said body, said body being made of a resilient material and being compressible at its opposite edge-portions diametrically across said body between the'hinged portion and the snap-catch of the lid, whereby the application of pressure and from the outer side of said body to provide a handle, said bent portion lying beneath said lid andaway from the connection between said snap-catch and said body, said body being made of a resilient material and being compressible at its opposite edge-portions diametrically across said body'between the hinged portion and the snap-catch of the lid, whereby the application of pressure upon said oppositely located points will release the snap-catch from its holding engagement with the said body. V

In testimony, that I claim the invention set forth above l have hereunto set my hand this 19th day of June, 1914.

GEORGE E. ADAMS.

Witnesses:

FnnoK. C. F RAENTZEL, FREDK. H. W. FRAENTZEL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner or intents, Washington, D. 0. 

